SPRING FESTIVAL – NEWS FROM PAC

Our wonderful Spring Festival is coming up. The date is Friday, April 27th. Mark your calendars because your children will want to come and you will enjoy it. This is a very special event now in its 8th year.

Thank you very much to Yvette and Tim who have volunteered to coordinate the prizes. Other coordinators are needed for these three areas:

1. Admissions

2. Food

3. Games

We also need people to volunteer to help out on the night.

Spring Festival Poster Competition

Watch out for more information coming about the poster competition to advertise our big event.

PAC NOMINATIONS for 2012-2013

We are looking for Nominations for the following Executive PositionsChairVice-ChairTreasurerSecretaryMontessori Chairfundraising ChairDPAC RepresentativeBCCPAC RepresentativeSchool Planning Council RepresentativesThank you so much to everyone who volunteers their time to be on the PAC Executive.

SCIENCE FAIR

Our science fair was a huge success with many wonderful projects presented by articulate, clear thinking students. Mr. Steve Cardwell, Superintendent of Schools, who was visiting Maple Grove on Thursday and was impressed by our students’ knowledge and fine presentations.

Division 6 on Breakfast TV!

Please check out this link to see our students on breakfast television.

There has been an increase in pertussis in our region since January 2012. Almost forty cases have occurred in communities – including some Aboriginal communities across the region as of this week. This is a large increase. There were no cases in the same period last year. As well, the pertussis outbreak in Fraser Health region continues with over 150 cases. Because of this increase, Vancouver Coastal Health is making free pertussis vaccine available for the following residents of the region (if they haven’t had a shot against pertussis in the last 5 years), 1. All pregnant women and their partners 2. Everyone in contact with babies 18 months of age and younger 3. All Aboriginal people Vaccine is available from family doctors, public health clinics, and some pharmacists. Please review your children’s immunization record to make sure they are up to date. Children usually get pertussis vaccine at 2, 4, 6, 18 months of age, at 4‐6 years, and in Grade 9. Right now, it is even more important babies and children get their shots on time. Pertussis is a very nasty illness. Babies less than one year old can get very sick or even die from it. It starts like a cold (sneezing, runny nose, a low fever and a mild cough). Severe coughing spells start within a week or two. The cough often ends with a whoop or crowing sound when the person breathes in. Adults and teens usually don’t make the whooping sound when they cough, so making a diagnosis is more difficult. Your doctor or nurse practitioner can do a swab test from the nose to confirm it. Coughing spells are often severe enough to cause gagging or throwing up and may last more than two months. To see how severe pertussis can be in young babies, and to understand what the whooping cough sounds like, you can look on You Tube under “Babies with whooping cough”. If you are exposed to pertussis, it usually takes 7 to 10 days to fall sick, but may take up to 21 days. Treatment with antibiotics cuts down the time pertussis germs can spread from three weeks to five days. Children with pertussis must stay home from school until they have taken antibiotics for 5 days. If you or your children develop early symptoms of whooping cough, please see your family physician or nurse practitioner. More information is available at www.vch.ca or at www.healthlinkbc.ca or www.fnhc.ca/index.php/news/article/a_tripartite_memo_on_pertussis_whooping_cough1 Office of the Chief Medical Health Officer #800‐601 West Broadway Vancouver BC V5Z 4C2 Tel: 604‐675‐3900 / Fax: 604‐675‐3930

The Gifted Challenge Summer Program has been opened for student’s applications.

The detailed program and courses description has been posted at: www.vsb.bc.ca/glsp . The application form can be downloaded from there.

Participants of last year will get a copy in the mail next week

A few copies will be sent to each VSB elementary school.

HEALTHY EATERS AND LEADERS SUMMER CAMP

The Vancouver School Board’s West 1 Community Schools Team is pleased to be offering the Healthy Eaters and Leaders (HEAL) Summer Camps at Maple Grove Elementary (Cypress and 46th, behind Magee Secondary) for seven weeks this summer! Designed for children entering Grades 1-7 this fall, HEAL campers participate in preparing healthy lunches each day and will take part in EXCITING outdoor activities, cooking classes, gardening, crafts, science, two field trips per week and more! Registration forms are available by clicking here HEAL Registration form. A limited number of forms are available outside the Main Office. For more information, please contact Sarah Tracz, Programmer with the West 1 Community Schools Team, at stracz@vsb.bc.ca or 778-229-9794.

Parent Workshops

Vancouver School Board Settlement Workers In Schools (SWIS) Program presents a series of free educational and interactive workshops at the Kerrisdale Community Centre

Do you or someone you care about have a problem with gambling? Are you aware that they (including your school age children) may be gambling online?

“Know your limit, play within it”. When gambling stops being a game…

Come to learn about signs of problem gambling and resources available for help. An information session conducted by the Prevention Specialist, BC Responsible & Problem Gambling Program, Ministry of Justice

您或您関心的人有賭博方面的問題嗎？您可知道有人(包括您的學齡子女)在網上賭博嗎？

[耍樂要精明，賭博有節制] ，當賭博不再是遊戲時…

請參與由卑詩省司法厛下屬“有責任心及問題賭博計劃”的預防專員主講的，有關怎樣識別問題賭博的癥兆及病態賭博求助資源等教育講座。

Tue 09:30 – 11:00am 10th April, 2012 四月十日上午九時半

School System in BC – Secondary卑詩省中學教育制度

Your teenager son or daughter starts schooling in Vancouver for the first time? Are you ready? How much do you know about secondary school or graduation program in BC? If you have many questions about secondary school education, please come join this free information session provided by Vancouver School Board staff.